July 7, 2007 Post

As promised, here is a quick video journal/montage of the trip home. Come along with us, won't ya?June 30th was supposed to be THE day. The move day. The big kahuna. The big cheese. The main event. However, it didn't work out that way thanks to U-Haul. Apparently they didn't have a 17' truck or a tow dolley for us to pick up on the morning of June 30th. They blamed it on previous renters not holding up their end of the bargain with returning the trucks on time. So we waited...and waited...and waited. Once noon rolled around with no truck, we talked to the leasing office of the apartment complex we were moving out of and explained the situation. They were very gracious and said as long as we were out of the apartment by Monday, July 2, we were fine. So that eased our worries quite a bit. It wasn't until 3pm that we finally got a truck. U-Haul gave us the extra days we needed for free, plus some extra miles. Cool. We started loading as many boxes as possible. We had two buddies stop by to help us load (thanks Jim & Rene!). We decided to stay ONE more night in the old apartment. We unpacked the bed and slept in an empty place. The next morning, we finished loading and cleaning up the apartment. Here's a quick video of our last walk-through:http://youtube.com/watch?v=KojCIa-psp0

We left the apartment to go pick up the tow dolley and attach our car to it. Here is the final result - and our little traveling "home" on the road.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRkOw2khN08

We made it to Abington, VA - right outside the border of TN. Then on July 2, we crossed into the great state of TN. Here we are crossing into TN:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIWEZ-tqT0M

Later on that same day, we drove straight through Knoxville, TN, or K'ville for the natives. We were looking for that golden sphere in the city and couldn't find it. It now has an obstructed view from I-40, which is a bummer. But we managed to get a quick glimpse of it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4baGBL-uFVg

We made it just past Nashville and spent the night outside the city. As we pulled into the hotel parking lot, we went around to the back and then discovered *gasp* - a dead end! This wouldn't be a big deal if you weren't pulling a towed car. However, if you are, this means you have to back up. And backing up a towed car is a B-I-T-C-H. After several expletives and even detaching the car from the tow dolley, we FINALLY figured out how to back the truck up without the tow dolley going crooked. Fun stuff! And good times...

The next day, July 3rd, was easy. We decided to just drive to Memphis and spend the night there because we wanted to make the pilgrimage to Sun Studios and Beale Street. We reached Memphis just past noon, had lunch, then went to Sun Studios for the 2:30pm tour. We ended up spending lots of dough in the gift shop - including a purse made out of genuine 45 rpm Sun Studios records. I think Mike was more excited about this purchase than I was! I may have to fight him over it...;-)
Then we took the trolley down to Beale Street - where the bbq was eaten, and oh yes, the drinks flowed. We watched several street performers do some blues. Here's one of the crazy guitarists we saw there. Notice how he dressed for the 4th of July holiday. Everyone should have an outfit like THIS guy...(and please tell the Pizza Hut lady to get her umbrella out of the freaking way)http://www.youtube.com/v/KoUJm-10_5E

So the next day, we wake up and cross into Arkansas. Here we are crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas - wheeeee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjoYWx2EZcs

We drove to Eureka Springs, AR - which is in Northwest Arkansas - to visit with Mike's dad until our place in Austin is ready on July 10. We arrived on the evening of the 4th of July - just in time for a genuine BBQ and popping some firecrackers till 11pm! Here's a shot of one of the loud poppers going off. You will hear Haley, a precocious child, asking to assist me with keeping my ears plugged during the loud explosions - lol.http://www.youtube.com/v/ukGJH0Y__MA

We've been having a great time here. And of course, got some videos of the nice, twisting roads of AR that scare the shite out of me. I'll load those up in the next week or so.Thanks for everyone's well wishes as we made our way across. It feels good to be returning to the "motherland."
Current Location: Eureka Springs, AR
Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Live Earth concert on Bravo